Editorial: An empty chair at the school board table

There is a vacant chair at the table of the St. Landry Parish School Board, and it took a federal case to empty it.

For the past 10 months, Quincy Richard has occupied that chair with a cloud of accusation surrounding him: an indictment by a federal grand jury on charges that Richard and former board member John Miller solicited $5,000 bribes from superintendent candidate Joseph Cassimere in return for their promise to vote for Cassimere to fill the job.

Cassimere reported the solicitation to the FBI and, on Sept. 24, Richard and Miller were arrested shortly after Cassimere handed over marked money to them in a sting operation. From that point on, Miller, who would not resign until he entered a guilty plea, became largely a place holder, rarely attending meetings and rarely voting when he did.

Richard, on the other hand, simply would not go away. He was present at meeting after meeting, voicing his opinions, casting votes and, in a textbook example of conflict of interest, casting the deciding vote against Cassimere in May, resulting in Cassimere losing the superintendent post to Edward Brown.

All this occurred even after an investigation by the Daily World and a subsequent suit by District Attorney Earl Taylor showed that Richard was ineligible to serve on the board even before he was elected to his last two terms in 2006 and 2010 because he was already a convicted felon.

It all came to an end Tuesday when a jury in U.S. District Judge Richard Haik's court took only 43 minutes to find Richard guilty on three counts of bribery, and finally, in effect, removed him from the board.

That Richard lacked the sense of responsibility to resign after his arrest is disgraceful. That he could remain for 10 months, drawing $800 per month as a school board member, is offensive. That during those 10 months only one member of the school board - Randy Wagley - would make any open reference to the fact that Richard should not have been serving on the board is failure of civic responsibility.

That Richard would cast a crucial vote on the employment of the star witness against him is an outrageous violation of the public trust.

Perhaps the most telling bit of behavior by Richard, however, came moments after he accepted the $5,000 from Joseph Cassimere. Testimony in the trial showed that, as Richard was being questioned after his arrest, he corrected FBI Agent Pamela McCarthy when she initially miscounted the bribe money, then told her that he had solicited the bribe so that he could buy "new tires and wheels for his Corvette."

That is ludicrous.

Now, the St. Landry Parish School Board has a chance to start from scratch. Richard is suspended without pay and will almost certainly be removed when the Third Circuit Court of Appeal hears arguments in his removal suit on Wednesday.

The board is set to appoint a successor to fill Richard's seat. As they do, they might also take a cue from Haik, who commended Cassimere for his actions in the case, saying, "In stature, Mr. Cassimere, you have grown to the size of a giant."

The board might take a moment to thank Cassimere.

They might also do something to serve as a reminder as they ponder Richard's successor.

They might prop an empty tire rim in Richard's vacant seat.

- The (Opelousas) Daily World

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Editorial: An empty chair at the school board table

There is a vacant chair at the table of the St. Landry Parish School Board, and it took a federal case to empty it.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Real Deals

Flip, shop and save on specials from your favorite retailers in the Lower Hudson Valley, 10604.